Dolores del Rio Ristorante

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habba02

Joined 4 years ago

Great Riverwalk Find! Featured on Rachael Ray's Vacation. I had the opportunity to stay in downtown SA last weekend and happened upon a new "Rachael Ray Vacations" episode on the Food Network, she did a segment on this restaurant. WOW, she said it was "her pick" and she was correct! I went the following night for dinner and it was fabulous. I had the chicken picatta and my friend had the cioppino which was what they highlighted on her show and it was delicious! My chicken picatta was the best I've ever had and the cioppino was full of the freshest seafood and a hugh portion.... too bad we didn't have a fridge for the leftovers. They had live music and a belly dancer . The staff was attentive and very fun to watch manuever skillfully around this tiny gem on the Riverwalk. We'll be back for sure.

Doesn't Recommend

Cowboy1

Joined 4 years ago

Need to learn customer relations. I usta go in this place all the time spending any where from $300 to $500 an trip always tipped well and everyone in the place knows me by name but the last time I was in there the owner tripped out cussing me and the guests with me i am currently still friends with all the staff but she needs to learn to run a business catering to the public anyhow ur loss ill take my money where it is appreciated

COWBOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn't Recommend

JohnSKerrville

Joined 5 years ago

Worst experience in San Antonio ... Ever. We saw the bad reviews, but decided to take a risk. We booked a table for 10, three weeks in advance, and they confirmed the booking...so far so good. Then they called two hours before the reservation to ask us if we would move it an hour later. We said we would like to eat at 7.30 as reserved...and they said OK, they would jockey the situation around. When we arrived, they had no table for us. They said the dishwasher must have made the reservation in error (even though it was confirmed the day before). Then they said they had a table for five people, because we must have said five people, not 5 couples (remember that they confirmed a table for 10). The door staff were rude, we never got to sample the food, or the belly dancer, and we never shall. Cross this one off your list. Aztec, just down the street had a table, and the food was just fine. Go there instead.

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oobknarf

Joined 5 years ago

Fabulous atmosphere, great food and service, jazz, belly dancer! Get a reservation!. This place is perfect! Fantastic food, attentive service, great atmosphere! Jazz, belly dancer, what more do you need?!?

Dolores del Rio is definitely in the "hole in the wall" category, so if you like lots of space around your table, this is not for you. Think "cozy". But that's part of the charm; all of the fellow diners are friendly and everyone is having a good time interacting with the band and the staff. The food was unexpectedly fantastic. I had the Veal Picatta and it was out of this world. My wife had the linguine with pesto and loved it. Try the spinach salad (it's big enough to share). The garlic bread was authentic and very garlicky. Pretty good wine list. The tiramisu was the best I've ever had. Super creamy and smooth. Coffee was nice and very strong. I left feeling like I had had a night straight out of a Bogart movie. Get there early (7pm ish) on Friday or Saturday nights. Better yet get a reservation. When the band took a break, the belly dancer took over. I'm not an expert, but she was attractive, not really skilled. The band was the opposite!

No place is perfect. The temperature was a little hot, and the piano needed to be tuned or replaced.

Overall, if you're looking for that personal touch, jazz, great Italian food, Dolores del Rio is a fantastic choice. You wouldn't think of it in this location, since almost everything else is so touristy on the Riverwalk. But this is the real deal! 5 stars!

Doesn't Recommend

password33

Joined 5 years ago

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! 21 Mar 08. Definitely you are better off going to macaroni grill or olive garden if you are craving for Italian in the SA area and don't know where to go. The food had no taste, the dish with meat was overcook (almost burned), appetizer which was calamari was in soup vegetable oil and the sauce was probably straight form a can. The red wine was not good and not worth $7 per glass. I suggest seeing the kitchen and in the way to the bathrooms and take a look at the lack of cleanliness--unfortunately we saw this at the end of our visit. Lastly, I never heard of an Italian restaurant with a belly dance show. Nothing against overweight people but my previous experience with this type of shows the dancer is usually physically fit to perform the strenuous and intricate movements required to agitate the bells in her dress that goes at the rhythm of the playing music. In this case the so-call ?belly dancer? needs to loose at least 35 pounds to regain her shape, utilize the customary bells and lots of practice before attempting if she expects a tip for her efforts. In summary, I wasted $78 in the worst dinning experience I had in a while.

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LisaandBridget

Joined 5 years ago

Best food onthe Riverwalk. This place was recommend by two San Antonio locals who said if you want something on the Riverwalk that wasn't a chain this was the place to try. However, we read the reviews on this site and were discouraged about going, but I am really glad we went. Make a reservation, it is a must. The place was packed and the space is very limited, but I found it romantic and charming. The waittress was very friendly - I was expecting the worst and they were friendly and gracious. The food was great. We ordered the Polenta with sausage and peppers and the veal picatta. The woman next to me ordered the Pesto Gnocci -even full I almost asked her for a bite - It looked that good. Both of our dishes were flavorful and superb - another thing we were worried about from previous reviewers. Overall, our experience with Dolores Del Rio was worth the Five Stars especially for Texans in San Antonio for the weekend who have done the Riverwalk experience - this is place to go. I am recommending to friends.

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mike222

Joined 6 years ago

Everyone's a Star at the DDR. What a fabulous place. One of the only non-chain restaurants remaining on the Riverwalk ! You gotta see it to believe it. The food was excellent, fettuccini alfredo was rich and loaded with flavor, garlic bread was terrific. My husband had the fish of the day, with asparagus and shrimp, too much food but delicious. No packaged stuff here. Limited wine list but that was ok too. The owners daughter told us that the chef was trained by her grandmother over 23 years ago and he's still preparing her recipes. They have a gorgeous belly dancer and great jazz ! A customer next to us even got up and sang a song with the band, they make everyone feel welcome and like a star. Too much fun! We are locals but had never been there but we will go back often.

Doesn't Recommend

metmor

Joined 6 years ago

BAD PLACE TO EAT. Very poor service, rude waiter, bad food, place is soooooo small, unbelievably ugly and very ungraceful entertainer belly dancing in front of you....i just wonder how you can eat .......ugh........disgusting!!!! Because of the poor service, we left a tip of 18 cents and guess what....the waiter came back for us and threw the $1 on my friend's face. Don't ever make a mistake in dining at this place.......you'll be sorry!

Doesn't Recommend

lakwatsera78

Joined 6 years ago

Nightmare on the Riverwalk!. Great food scent - and that's all you'll ever get! Our seats were lousy - had to wipe our own chairs. The maitre d' placed the menu on top of the candle and almost burned the place (come to think of it, he should have). The waiter was rude, discriminate, sarcastic, and obnoxious, and the assisting waitress was totally incompetent -- ask for straws, arrived after following up a couple of times; asks for 2 sodas, only 1 came. The lasagna was dry, and the spaghetti dinner came with only ONE tiny meatball! And the entertainment? Nauseating!! If you want to have fond memories of San Antonio, AVOID THIS RESTAURANT!! Or, you'll regret setting your foot in it!

Doesn't Recommend

areecer

Joined 6 years ago

High prices, bad food, and one extremely rude waitress. Don't waste your money!. We had heard great things about this restaurant so on our last night on the Riverwalk my husband and I decided to check it out. We were seated right away and at first we were impressed. It was a tiny and crowded little restaurant but this made it very cozy. Also, the dim lighting and beautiful music made it very romantic. The ambiance was great, but that was it. We already knew that prices on the riverwalk were high but this restaurant was outrageous! We decided to share a plate because neither of us was starving and we figured that the plates would be huge because they were so expensive. We ordered a plate of fettuccini alfredo and asked the waitress if the dish came with chicken, thinking surely it would since the price was $18.95! The answer was no. Just a bowl of noodles and sauce was going to cost us twenty dollars! We decided to add the chicken and after ordering we were thinking ?this better be good?. But it wasn?t at all. The food wasn?t ice cold but getting there, the noodles were still kind of tough, and the tiny, thin piece of chicken breast which ended up costing us an additional $7.50 was stringy, tough, and tasteless. And no the plate was not huge. We were very disappointed in our meal. Now the service hadn?t been bad but the waitress wasn?t very friendly either so when we got our bill we were just ready to get out of there. We left the woman a four dollar tip which was fifteen percent of the bill, handed it to her and got up to leave. We were making our way to the door when she turned around and rudely said to us in front of the entire restaurant ?you guys only left me like four dollars! Was there something wrong with the service?? We could not believe she did that! I waited table for three years and that is something you just do not do. We simply replied ?yes we know we left you four dollars and no there wasn?t a problem with the service? and walked out. We were completely infuriated and will never go there again.